The author suggests that Holderlin was possibly pretending to be crazy the whole time, just to deviate from the norm and try to bring a new perspective to the work since anything other than that would seem a repetition of past analysis.

After reading this passage I believe Holderlin was in fact a genius due to his manipulation of his environment. Most people live their lives wishing they could do something else or be a different person or maybe even more of themselves. They can't achieve this because they can't manipulate their environment, unlike Holderlin. He would play his piano so violently that the keys would break but other days softly so that people can listen. He made his environment (people) hate the loud noisy days so they would later on appreciate the quiet days and his singing. It works because even though they don't understand what he is saying they still listen. Is this kind of manipulation needed to be considered a genius? Is that the only reason he is a genius?

The way I understood this quote is that since the experiences of reading a book at a young age and reading the same book again at a mature age are completely different, we will look at the book with like a new set of eyes if we reread because of how clear the message of the book will become to us. It's like one of those things your parents say you wouldn't understand unless you go through it once you get older.

The way I understood this quote is that since the experiences of reading a book at a young age and reading the same book again at a mature age are completely different, we will look at the book with like a new set of eyes if we reread because of how clear the message of the book will become to us. It's like one of those things your parents say you wouldn't understand unless you go through it once you get older.